Pricing Announced for New Hot Diesel: The Volkswagen Golf GTD

MILTON KEYNES, UNITED KINGDOM – April 21, 2009: Volkswagen has revealed pricing for its new performance diesel, the Golf GTD. The new model is available to order at Volkswagen Retailers now ahead of the cars arriving in the UK on 22 June.

Prices will start at £21,850 RRP ‘on the road’ for the three-door, six-speed manual model. There is a £585 premium for the five-door model and a £1,305 for the six-speed DSG automatic gearbox.

Powering the new GTD is a refined 2.0-litre (1,968 cc) common rail TDI engine, producing 170 PS and a substantial 258 lbs ft of torque channelled via a six-speed manual or automatic DSG gearbox. This translates to effortless performance with the ability to accelerate to 62 mph in 8.1 seconds and a top speed of 138 mph. Combined with CO2 emissions of just 139 g/km and average fuel consumption of 53.3 mpg and a range in excess of 640 miles on a single tank of fuel, the GTD is a frugal yet exciting hot hatch.

The Golf GTD’s appearance differs significantly from the standard Golf. A new front bumper from the GTI sits below a honeycomb grille element framed by chrome horizontal fins and a prominent ‘GTD’ badge. At the rear, full body-coloured bumpers make the GTD appear lower and wider than it really is, while the Golf’s standard wheels are replaced with unique 17-inch ‘Seattle Black’ alloys.

Inside, the main contact points are unique to the Golf GTD – a flat-bottomed steering wheel, a leather gearshift and a standard tartan interior. The tartan finish is unique to the GTD and is subtly different from that found in the GTI, being grey, white and black, rather than red, white and black.

As with the entire Golf range, the new GTD will feature class-leading levels of safety with ABS, ESP (Electronic Stabilisation Programme) and seven airbags, including for the first time a knee airbag, all standard. The Golf was recently awarded a maximum five-star rating by the EuroNCAP crash testing agency.